Wizards’ Espinoza headed to World Cup

Roger Espinoza, a defender/midfielder for the Kansas City Wizards, will be headed to South Africa this summer to participate in the World Cup.

Honduras National Team manager Reinaldo Rueda named Espinoza to the 23-team man roster on Tuesday.

Espinoza is the 20th member of the Wizards to be named to a World Cup squad, and the seventh player to go as an active member of the club.

"I've dreamed about this since I was little," Espinoza said. "My top goal was to go to the World Cup, and I'm glad I got called up. It's where every player in the world wants to be."

Espinoza's call-up comes just over a year after his first appearance with the national team in the UNCAF Nations Cup in early 2009. Espinoza scored his first international goal in that tournament when he scored the game-winner in Honduras' 1-0 victory in the third-place game against El Salvador. Espinoza has scored three goals in 10 appearances for Honduras, most recently during the team's 3-1 victory against the United States on Jan. 23, 2010.